In Exile but at Home, McGreevey Weighs His Role in Public Service

RAHWAY, N.J. - James E. McGreevey takes long walks in Rahway River Park nearly every morning. He has been working on real estate deals at the law firm of a longtime supporter. And he has moved from the sprawling governor's mansion in Princeton -- with the ornate, wood-paneled library he loved -- to a two-bedroom "luxury" rental by the train tracks in this blue-collar town near where he grew up.

He sees his father nearly every day, and now that he and his wife are separating after his revelation that he is gay, his weekends are spent traveling back and forth to her ranch house in a nearby town, where he picks up his 3-year-old daughter for regular visits.

Seven weeks after quitting the job he dedicated much of his adult life to winning, New Jersey's former governor is adjusting to life as a private citizen. But friends and associates say he is also seeking to re-enter the world he inhabited for nearly two decades as a prosecutor, bureaucrat, lobbyist, legislator, mayor and governor. Public life and policy remain addictive draws that Mr. McGreevey refuses to give up.

Mr. McGreevey, 47, has met several times in recent weeks with the head of a Manhattan political relations agency to discuss a future role in civic life. He has mentioned to friends the possibility of writing a book. On Christmas Eve, he dropped by a Newark church in a New Jersey State Police windbreaker and Irish tweed cap to dole out chicken at a soup kitchen.

"He's still feeling his way in terms of what his public service involvement is going to be," said State Senator Raymond J. Lesniak, a confidant whose law firm has employed the former governor since Dec. 1. "But he talks about it all the time, that he has a need to be involved in community service and has a lot to offer. He's just taking his time and trying to figure it out."

Scott Widmeyer, a public relations and political consultant who has advised several former governors, including Thomas H. Kean, on the transition to private life, said that Mr. McGreevey is considering an array of options related to policies he supported as governor.

"He's a great thinker," said Mr. Widmeyer, who began meeting with Mr. McGreevey three months ago. "He obviously wants to tap into the many accomplishments he had as governor and a lot of the areas that he navigated."

Mr. McGreevey declined to be interviewed for this article. He has not announced plans to re-enter public life, and there are some who doubt he will rise again. But Mr. McGreevey has shown little interest in exile or seclusion.

He can often be seen chatting up neighbors in the lobby of his new apartment building. "He's very outgoing," said Jeff Halter, the building's rental agent. His walks in Rahway River Park with James J. Kennedy -- Rahway's mayor and a friend since the 1980's -- and Jerry Scaturo, a Rahway city councilman, typically start at 7:30 a.m. and go for about three miles. Nearly every day, Mr. Scaturo said, a dozen or so people stop the former governor to say hello and offer support.

"He's happy that people recognize him," Mr. Scaturo said. "He said he never thought they would, but they do."

Mr. McGreevey clearly relished the attention he received during his Dec. 24 appearance at St. John's Church in Newark as a volunteer at the soup kitchen. To those who remembered Mr. McGreevey from previous appearances, it was very much as if he were still in office.

"Hey, governor!" one man said.

"I seen you last year," another said. "I still got your autograph."

Mr. McGreevey just smiled. Asked by the only reporter there if he missed doing public events, he said, "You realize the importance of doing things like this."

Several people close to Mr. McGreevey said he lavishes most of his attention on family. They said he spends nearly every weekend with his daughter Jacqueline, who lives in Springfield with Mr. McGreevey's wife, Dina Matos McGreevey.

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He returns frequently to Woodbridge, too, where he was mayor from 1992 to 2001.

Jack McGreevey, his father, who works in the office of State Senator Joseph F. Vitale on Main Street in Woodbridge, said he sees his son nearly every day. John Mitch, Woodbridge's municipal clerk and a friend since the 1980's, said Mr. McGreevey stopped by City Hall the week before Christmas to dispense holiday greetings. He also called Mr. Mitch's home on Christmas Eve.

"He was still the same Jim McGreevey," Mr. Mitch said. "It was if he had never left."

Mr. McGreevey maintains a transition office only a few blocks away from City Hall, in a red three-story home on Green Street. The rent of about $2,400 a month is paid by the state, from a $500,000 transition fund that Mr. McGreevey will have access to until May. Cathy McLaughlin, Mr. McGreevey's secretary, said that he comes in once or twice a week. "He still gets e-mails from people who think he's governor," she said.

Woodbridge residents often stop by to see Mr. McGreevey, Ms. McLaughlin said. Near the entrance last week were more than 20 Christmas cards with messages offering support, prayers and appreciation.

But expanding beyond this cocoon, in public life or in business, may be tough. Mr. McGreevey's image suffered from scandals involving friends and aides before he revealed the sex scandal he cited as the cause for his resignation. Former staff members say he had an affair with a senior aide, and in the stir of political disgrace, Mr. McGreevey turned some supporters into opponents.

"He developed an extraordinary credibility problem," said Robert G. Torricelli, who was forced by ethics issues to abandon his re-election race for the United States Senate in 2002. "The promises to the same people for multiple positions, the not being candid with people -- I don't think he left the governorship with many friends."

The people who wave in Rahway River Park, Mr. Torricelli added, "are not the people who are likely to become clients."

But Mr. McGreevey's supporters say his years of acquired knowledge about the way government works still has value. Mr. Lesniak said Mr. McGreevey has been a useful partner in several real estate development projects that required municipal approval. "There's a lot of trust in him with the elected officials throughout the state," he said.

Still, according to Mr. Lesniak and others, such deals are not likely to provide enough satisfaction for Mr. McGreevey.

Mr. Vitale said he expected Mr. McGreevey to eventually secure a quasipublic position, possibly at a private foundation connected to humanitarian or science-related issues. "This is just a time to reflect and regroup, and see what it is he really wants to do," said Mr. Vitale, a Democrat from Woodbridge.

Mr. Lesniak said that a book could act as a prelude to grander plans.

"He hasn't made a decision on that," Mr. Lesniak said, "but I think it's inevitable that it will be. And I think that will drive a round of public appearances."

Mr. Widmeyer, who said he is advising Mr. McGreevey informally, described their meetings as "a kind of exploration" of options. Equity in education funding, public-private partnerships in education and health care were just a few of the topics that came up, he said. In the coming months, Mr. Widmeyer said, Mr. McGreevey will likely establish himself as an informal advocate and adviser on one or more of those issues.

"I don't think he's ready to go out there in January with some major, bold step," Mr. Widmeyer said. "But he'll keep himself active."